MMA News: Stephen Loman Opens Up On Phenomenal Debut At ONE: Winter Warriors II

Stephen Loman’s ONE Championship journey is off on the right foot with a stunning TKO victory over No. 3-ranked bantamweight Yusup Saadulaev of Russia at ONE: Winter Warriors II.

Speaking to the media via virtual presser, Loman revealed how he prepared for his fight.

“While watching the tape, I saw that he is very capable in the wrestling and grappling game. But he (Yusup Saadulaev) wasn’t able to set it up against me since his striking is also very respectable. Every time I would throw kicks, he was able to counter them repeatedly. But once I found my range and I used it to my advantage, that’s when I got him with the knockout,” an elated Loman told the media.

Right from the opening bell, the Team Lakay was the more aggressive fighter as he looked to impose his will against Saadulaev, testing his reach with repeated leg kicks.

Saadulaev noticed that the Filipino striker was measuring up his angles and sought to counter his kicks with short combos, as Loman noted.

Loman started to put pressure on the ranked bantamweight as the fight dragged on, with the Team Lakay standout slowly starting to understand how and where Saadulaev moves.

Staying true to his nickname of “The Sniper,” Loman found the opening that he needed to finish the fight and threw a powerful overhand left to the face of Saadulaev that backed him up against the cage.

A short exchange of punches later, Loman had forced the TKO victory with the overhand left late in the first round.

“That’s what we were training for. It became an instinct for me to use it during the fight. When he threw the jab-straight combo, I dropped my head and I threw the overhand left which hit him flush,” said Loman on the fight-ending sequence.

To Saadulaev’s credit, he was able to tag and stun the 29-year-old but failed to capitalize on it as he searched for a way to bring Loman down to the ground.

Loman later added that he was not expecting that the Singapore-based promotion would have him face a ranked fighter right out the gate and that he is expecting his next challenge to be among those in the top five of the bantamweight division.

“I think one more opponent [before I fight for the title] because I think they’re looking at eliminating some of the top contenders, especially after the fight between the [ONE bantamweight] champion (Bibiano Fernandes) and [John] Lineker,” Loman said when asked about his thoughts on fighting for the title.